Hammer toy



Jan. 30, 1951 E, s Y 2,540,061

HAMMER TOY Filed March 5, 1949 INVENTOR.

BY @M W I ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 30, 1951 HAMMER. TOY

Elmer Szantay, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Sandee -Manufaeturing Company, a corporation of Illinois Application March 5, 1949,;Serial No. 79,853 2 Claims. (01. 46-1) This invention is directed to toys for children.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a hammer toy which is simple in construction, which is inexpensive to manufacture, which readily appeals to small children, which is safe to play with and which will not break or crack or splinter as a result of rough handling.

Briefly, the hammer toy of this invention includes a base, a cover overlying the base and having a plurality of holes, a spring urging apart the cover and base, a peg extending through each hole in the cover, and means for frictionally holding the pegs in the holes. The pegs are normally outwardly disposed and when they are individually hammered they are moved downwardly through the holes. After the pegs are thus hammered downwardly the cover may be collapsed toward the base against the action of the spring whereby the pegs are then moved outwardly to position them for further hammering. The hammer toy of this invention appeals greatly to small children and teaches them muscular coordination in the manipulation thereof.

Other objects of this invention reside in the details of construction of the hammer toy and the cooperative relationship between the component parts thereof.

Further objects and advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to the accompanying specification, claims and drawings in which:

Figure l is a top plan view of the hammer toy of this invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view thereof;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 showing the pegs in position for hammering;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but showing the manner in which the pegs are restored for further hammering and Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially along the line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

The hammer toy of this invention includes a base III which is preferably circular in configuration. It may be made of substantially unbreakable thermo-plastic and may be formed by injection molding. The base I 0 may be provided with suitable legs or supports l I which also may be made of substantially unbreakable thermoplastic by extrusion molding. The legs or supports ll may be secured to the base I0 by cementing. The center of the base I0 is provided with a hole [2 for receiving a stud l3 having a head I4. Here again the stud may be formed injection molding and may be secured within the hole {2 of the base Illby cementing.

A cover l6 overlies the base [0 and is also preferably made of substantially unbreakable thermo-plastic and may be formed b injection molding. The cover 16 is provided with a dependent skirt H which may be formed integrally with the cover or be suitably secured thereto by cementing. The cover I6 is provided with a central opening l8 for receiving the stud l3. The lower surface of the cover is provided with an annular ridge l9 forming a seat for a compression spring 20. The compression spring normally maintains apart the cover l6 and base In and the upward movement of the cover I6 is limited by the head M on the stud l3.

The cover I6 is also provided with a plurality of annularly arranged holes 22 each adapted to receive a peg 23 having a head 24. The head 24 of each peg is located between the base l0 and the cover Hi. The pegs 23 may be made of substantially unbreakable thermo-plastic and may be formed by injection molding.

A resilient band such as an elastic rubber band encompasses the pegs 23 adjacent the heads 24 thereof underneath the cover "5. The resilient band operates to tilt the pegs 23 in the holes 22 so that the pegs 23 are frictionally held within the holes in whatever positions they are located.

A collar 26 having an opening therein for the head I4 is suitably secured to the base [6 as by cementing, and the collar is provided with a suitable head 21 secured thereto by cementing. The collar 26 and head 21 may be formed of substantially unbreakable thermo-plastic by injection molding.

In operation the spring 20 normally maintains the cover [6 away from the base I0 and the pegs 23 are normally maintained in the upper position by the resilient band 25 as is shown in the left hand portion of Fig. 3. The pegs 23 may then be hammered downwardly by a suitable hammer to the position shown at the right of Fig. 3. When so hammered downwardly the pegs are retained in the downward position by the action of the resilient band 25. Thus, the pegs may be individually hammered downwardly by the child. When all of the pegs have been thus hammered downwardly all that is necessary is to strike the head 21 a sharp blow with the hammer whereupon the spring 20 is compressed and the cover It is collapsed toward the base I0. As a result the pegs 23 are moved from the lower position to the upper position by the base of substantially unbreakable thermo-plastic by ll [0 as is indicated in Fig. 4. The spring 20 then moves apart the cover It and base In and the parts are then in a position for another cycle of operation.

The hammer toy of this invention appeals greatly to small children and teaches them muscular coordination in the operation thereof. The hammer toy is simple in construction, it may be inexpensively manufactured, it is safe for small children to play with and it will not break or crack or splinter as a result of rough handling. Any suitable substantially unbreakable thermoplastic may be utilized in the manufacture of the hammer toy such as cellulose acetate butyrate.

While for purposes of illustration, one form of this invention has been disclosed, other forms thereof may become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to this disclosure, and therefore, this invention is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A hammer toy comprising a base, a cover overlying the base and having a plurality of holes, a spring urging apart the cover and base, a peg extending through each hole in the cover, and means for frictionally holding the pegs in position in the holes, whereby the pegs may be individually hammered downwardly through the holes and then moved upwardly through the 4 holes by collapsing the cover toward the base against the action of the spring.

2. A hammer toy comprising a base, a cover overlying the base and having a plurality of holes, a spring urging apart the cover and base, a headed stud carried by the base and guiding the cover and limiting the separation of the cover and base, a peg extending through each hole in the cover and each provided with a head below the cover for retaining the pegs in the holes in the cover, and a resilient band engaging the pegs for frictionally holding the pegs in position in the holes, whereby the pegs may be individually hammered downwardly through the holes and then moved upwardly through the holes by collapsing the cover toward the base against the action of the spring.

ELMER SZANTAY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 697,958 Flindall Apr. 15, 1902 1,555,993 Larson Oct. 6, 1925 2,403,522 Goldstein et a1. July 9, 1946 

